The popularity of home computing devices has continued to increase since the introduction of the first commercially viable models in the 1980s. Over the same period of time, consumers have become more environmentally conscious. In contrast to the increasing number of power-consuming devices in use, consumers are demanding energy-efficient designs for personal computers and their associated devices, such as printers and monitors. Makers of computers and peripheral devices have responded by continually improving the energy efficiency of their machines. Power management features configured to save energy have been incorporated into industry standards. The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (‘ACPI’) specification is one such standard that defines common interfaces for hardware recognition, motherboard, and device configuration and power management.
One energy-saving feature common to computing devices (and incorporated into ACPI) is the ability to automatically enter one or more power-saving modes (sometimes known as hibernate, standby, or sleep modes) after a period of inactivity. Identifying inactivity may be performed differently on an individual device according to the device configuration. Depending on the configuration, inactivity may be defined as the absence of a function of operations or user-input on a single machine.
FIG. 1 is a data flow diagram illustrating computing device power management in the prior art. FIG. 1 shows two connected computing devices 102 and 102′. Each computing device 102, 102′ individually carries out a power-saving function by determining the power mode (block 106, 106′) based on internal system activity 108, 108′, including user-input activity and other operations, and internal power settings 110, 110′ to arrive at a respective current power mode 112, 112′.
Today, users often employ computing devices in conjunction with one another, typically by connecting the devices over a network. Many systems and networks include specific applications and functions working interdependently in a logical network design.
Problematically, prior art power-saving features found on a computing device do not take into account interdependencies between systems when determining when to enter a power-saving mode. This deficiency may lead to a computing device inappropriately entering a power-saving mode while still needed by a connected device.
For example, a home user may use a laptop computer for work and a desktop computer for games, file storage, stock price monitoring, or audio file streaming. The user may listen to audio files being streamed from the desktop while working on the laptop. Sensing inactivity on the desktop, the desktop may enter a power-saving mode, thereby shutting off the hard drive and disabling the audio streaming function to the chagrin of the user.
Entering a power-saving mode at an undesirable time is frustrating for the user, who must take time to wake the computing device. In some instances, the user may be unaware of the shutdown until the exact moment the disabled function is needed, after which the user will have to wait for the device to wake. Inappropriate hibernation also increases energy consumption, because users frustrated with untimely shut-downs will simply turn off the power-saving function altogether.
Generally, power-saving features of computing devices lack the capability to manage power functions of a particular computing device in dependence upon the particular computing device's interdependencies with related computing devices.
Thus, it would be advantageous to develop systems and methods of power management to overcome these, and other, disadvantages.